Snappy Birthday, Terry!

Crazy busy around here this week - kids out of school, bible camp, basketball camp, getting ready for a trip to the West Coast next week, hosting a BBQ tomorrow, and in the midst of it, a birthday to celebrate today - my husband's! Happy Birthday, Terry!

Shhh, don't tell him, but I haven't had time to make something new, so I'm giving him this one from the ol' stash. (Would you believe I even resorted to purchasing a Father's Day card last weekend? Gasp!) The crab stamp is from Crab & Company by Stampin' Up. I stamped him on watercolor paper and turned him into a blue crab with reinkers and a water brush.

I'll be back tomorrow with a peek at one of Verve's awesome new sets. In the meantime, be sure to visit the Verve blog for yesterday's peeks and today's. As always, leave comments on the Verve blog for chances to win Verve goodies! And for more chances to win, check out all the release challenges. Join the Verve designers and fans at tomorrow's release party from 9-11 pm EST in the Verve Forum on SCS.

Happy stamping!




Stamps: Crab & Company (SU!)
Paper: Soft Sky, Blue Bayou, Not Quite Navy, Kraft, River Rock (SU!); watercolor paper (Canson)
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black (Tsukineko); various reinkers (SU!)
Accessories: Tiny Bubbles Cuttlebug folder (Provo Craft); aqua painter, twill, Antique Brass jumbo eyelets, distressing tool, dimensionals (SU!); mesh ribbon (unknown); sewing machine/thread
Size: 5 1/2" square

Urban Garden Thanks

Busy time of year, huh? I haven't had much time or desire for stamping these last few days, so today's card is an oldie from almost two years ago. I remember at the time, I couldn't get enough of this flower image from Stampin' Up's Live Your Dream set - so pretty and so easy to work with. The dp is from SU's Urban Garden. I'm assuming both have been retired?

Today's weather forecast in Northern Virginia is for another gorgeous day. High of 75 degrees, and here's the real blessing: a rare day with low humidity! I don't mind heat, but oh, the humidity around here can be insufferable. Looking forward to getting some much-needed gardening done today. Wishing you a happy day!



Stamps: Live Your Dream (SU!)
Paper: Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze, Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White, Urban Garden dp (SU!); textured white (Bazzill)
Ink: Kiwi Kiss pad, Not Quite Navy marker
Accessories: Old Olive buttons, linen thread, dimensionals, corner rounder, paper piercer, small oval punch, Kiwi Kiss wide striped ribbon, scalloped border punch (SU!); Argyle Cuttlebug folder (Provo Craft)
Size: 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" (A2)

With Sympathy

Happy Tuesday, friends! I took a short break from stamping over the weekend, and what I worked on yesterday isn't quite ready, so how about I show one of the projects I created from when I was part of the Splitcoast Dirty Dozen? This was for the September 2008 gallery. Our theme was Colors of the Rainbow, and we each took a color to focus on. Mine (obviously) was blue. This sympathy card was one of my favorites from the month.

I love the soft, soothing, muted tones of Soft Sky and Baja Breeze together - perfect for a sympathy card. The layout was based on the September 2008 Dirty Dozen sketch, which was provided by my DD "roomie" Cindy Lawrence. I inked the branch image from Stampin' Up's Kindred Spirits set with Soft Sky, then, to give it a little more depth, I lightly sponged Blue Bayou ink around the edges before stamping. It took a little time to trim out the image, but I love the look, so it was worth it. The dry embossing on the Baja Breeze strip was done with the Argyle Cuttlebug folder, and the embossing on the Basic Gray circle was done with Nestabilities.

It's hard to believe a whole year has passed! Thanks so much for stopping by!



Stamps: Kindred Spirits (Stampin' Up!)
Paper: Soft Sky, Basic Gray, Baja Breeze, Whisper White (SU)
Ink: Baja Breeze, Blue Bayou, Basic Gray (SU)
Accessories: large oval punch, Baja Breeze Striped Ribbon, Basic Grey taffeta ribbon, scallop border punch, 1/4" circle punch, silver brads, distressing tool (SU!); classic and scalloped circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders); Argyle Cuttlebug folder (Provo Craft)

Cheep Cheep

Happy Saturday! I've had Stampin' Up's adorable Cheep Talk set my possession for months, but this is the first time I've used it -- such a fun set to work with! Today's layout comes from Jen's Sketch For You To Try. I took a few liberties with the sketch and changed one of the rectangle panels to a rectangle-shaped grouping of stars, branch, and bird, but I think you'll still see the sketch foundations there. Check out what all the SFYTT gang has put together this week:

Jen del Muro and guest designer Kimberly Crawford
Amy Rohl
Carole Burrage
Kelly Lunceford
Susan Liles

To play along, use Mr. Linky to add your creation over on Jen's blog. If you upload to SCS, use keyword: SFYTT.

I'm keeping it short today so I can get back to my family and the grandparents who are visiting this weekend to help us celebrate my youngest's second birthday. Whew - where does the time go??

How about a proud mama moment? (I haven't done one of those in a while)





Stamps: Cheep Talk (Stampin' Up)
Paper: Papertrey Kraft, SU Kiwi Kiss, My Mind's Eye Bloom & Grow "Bloom" collection
Ink: SU Tangerine Tango, Kiwi Kiss, White craft
Accessories: SU button and ribbon, large and small star punches, and paper piercer; burlap string

God's Beauty

While stamping last night, I did something I haven't done in a long, long time - I made a Stampin Up-only (SUO) card! Not just mostly SU, but all SU. Are you proud of me? The whole SUO idea usually makes me nervous, as I've become quite dependent on my Spellbinders dies, non-SU stamps and embellishments, and non-SU designer papers. But I'm happy with this one, thanks to the fun corduroy buttons and the beautiful Parisian Breeze textured designer paper.

And then there's the awesome sketch I worked with - Jen's Sketch For You To Try. You can see the sketch and Jen's sample at Jen's blog, i{heart}2stamp. While you're there, be sure to give a warm welcome to April's guest designer, the fabulous Kimberly Crawford! Also be sure to take a peek at what the rest of the SFYTT sistahs have cooked up. We love when you play along, too! Remember to use keyword SFYTT if you upload to SCS.

Jen, with the sketch and guest designer
Amy Rohl
Carole Burrage (she'll be posting later tonight or in the morning, FYI)
Kelly Lunceford
Susan Liles

Have a great weekend!



Stamps: God's Beauty (SU hostess Level 1)
Paper: Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip, Parisian Breeze Specialty dp
Ink: Chocolate Chip craft
Accessories: clear embossing powder, Baja Breeze ribbon, white taffeta ribbon, Chocolate Chip corduroy buttons, paper piercer, dimensionals, scallop border punch
Size: 5" square
All supplies by Stampin' Up

The Secret to Having it All

Today's challenge over at Our Creative Corner is to pick a favorite embellishment and build a card around it. A while back, I picked up some fancy, glittery chipboard frame stickers from K&Co's Blue Awning line, but hadn't used a single one. So that's the embellishment I started with.

For my layout, I turned to Jen del Muro's newest Sketch for You to Try. All of my papers also come from K&Co's Blue Awning line, so this was a super easy card to pull together. As I was trying to figure out what to put IN the frame, I kept thinking what a nice layout for a photo. Pop a picture in there and frame it even. But I felt weird about making a project for an i{heart}2stamp sketch and not actually stamping, so I went with this great {stamped} quote from Stampin Up's retired Friendship Flowers set.

To get some dimension on the flowers, I curled the petals on the bottom large flower down and the petals on the top large flower up. They're each topped with a smaller flower, a 1/4" navy circle, and a navy brad. Here's a detail shot:



Ever wish SU carried brads in all of its colors? Heidi at Pink Hedgehog Paper Crafts does! She even has the elusive ivory and white.

The inside is finished as well:



For more OCC inspiration, visit the OCC blog or head over to the individual designers' blogs: Cindy Haffner, Dawn Easton, Jackie Pedro, Jennifer Meyer, Julee Tilman, Kim Teasdale, Laurie Schmidlin, Lynda Benden, Silke Ledlow. This week, please help us welcome the newest OCC designer, Lori Boyd! We're also thrilled to have Gabriela Divine as our guest this week! Hope you can play along. Details are on the OCC blog.

To see Jen's awesome sketch this week, visit her at i{heart}2stamp, where you can also give a warm welcome to stamping rockstar Jody Morrow, guest designer for February. So excited for you to join us, Jody! Then check out what the rest of the team did with the sketch: Amy Rohl, Carole Burrage, Kelly Lunceford, Shannan Teubner, and Susan Liles. Ready to give this sketch a try? Just link up your creation to Jen's post. If you upload to SCS, use keyword: SFYTT.

Have a great weekend. I'm excited to get some warmer temps here in Virginia!



Stamps: Friendship Flowers (Stampin' Up!)
Paper: SU Night of Navy and Very Vanilla; K&Co "Blue Awning" designer paper
Ink: SU Night of Navy; Ranger Old Paper Distress
Accessories: navy brads and ribbon (Pink Hedgehog Paper Crafts); flower, scallop border, and 1/4" circle punches, distressing tool, sponge (SU); chipboard frame (K&Co); sewing machine and gold metallic thread
Size: 6" square

Spellbound!

All I'm doing these days is making more Christmas cards! It's about the time of year when I tell dh we're just going to send out the photo cards and call it done. Honestly, this might be the year I break down and do it :)

For now, though, here are two more. This first one is my sample for Jen's awesome Sketch for You To Try this week. I love this non-traditional color combo! The patterned papers are all from the K&Co Christmas Cheer mat pack. I also got to play with some new Spellbinders products that came this week. I used the Labels 2 Nestabilities for the olive panel, and I used the Victorian Border Piercabilities for the decorative edge on the blue patterned vertical strip. The fun trim is something I found at Hancock Fabrics yesterday. The ornament is chipboard that's been covered with dp and embellished. I used a ton of "pearl" dew drops for accents.

Check out the sketch, Jen's sample, and a sample from the NEW guest designer at i{heart}2stamp. The rest of the crew has put together some awesome samples, too:

Amy
Carole
Shannan
Susan


Next up is my sample for this week's challenge at Our Creative Corner. Julee Tilman is our host this month, and she's starting us out with a fun sketch challenge. Here's my take:




For this one, I again used the Labels 2 Nestabilities on the sentiment panel. The poinsettia is a combination of Making Memories, Prima, and the Martha Stewart branch punch. The edges of most of the panels as well as the card base have been edged with a thin band of gold. I just dragged my Encore gold metallic pad across the edges. The white poinsettia has been painted with Angel Wings Shimmerz. Along the bottom, you can see some dry embossing and piercing that I did with the Victorian Border Piercabilities.

Be sure to check out the sketch at Our Creative Corner. You'll also find all the details on this week's PRIZE, generously provided by Alma de la Rosa of The Cat's Pajamas. Thank you for joining us, Alma! She also made the most beautiful sketch sample! As usual, you'll find samples from the OCC regulars there, too, and guess what, Laurie Schmidlin is back playing this week. We've missed you Laurie! For more chitchat about their projects, visit their blogs:

Cindy Haffner
Dawn Easton
Denise Marzec
Jennifer Meyer
Julee Tilman
Laurie Schmidlin
Lynda Benden

I received some questions yesterday about where to get the Shimmerz. I bought my Angel Wings a month or two ago at Jacksonbelle Embellishments. Now there is a Shimmerz blog, where you can find a list of online stores that carry them, including My Favorite Things and soon Our Daily Bread Designs, as well as tons of how-to and inspiration. They are great!!

Also, my friend Angel suggested I show my decorated insides. These are both very simple. I'll add an inside sentiment when I'm ready to send these:





Thanks for stopping by, and have a great weekend!



Stamps: Ornamental Christmas (first card, Verve Stamps); All Year Cheer (second card, Stampin' Up)
Paper: Christmas Cheer mat pack (K&Co); SU Old Olive, Not Quite Navy, Very Vanilla
Ink: Not Quite Navy, Certainly Celery, Old Olive, Garden Green, Encore Gold Metallic
Accessories: Labels 2 Nestabilities and Victorian Border Piercabilities (Spellbinders); gold and pearl dew drops, SU ivory taffeta ribbon, Offray wide satin ribbon, Making Memories Christmas Blossoms, Prima leaves, Martha Stewart branch and snowflake punches, gold stickles, SU gold metallic grosgrain, foam adhesive, Angel Wings Shimmerz, chipboard ornament (source unknown), gold cord, Wright's trim, paper piercer
Sizes: SYFTT card is 5 1/2" square; OCC card is standard A2 (4 1/4 x 5 1/2)

Triangle Fold Medallion

I played along with yesterday's Technique Lover's Challenge on SCS, which was to create a triangle fold medallion. The medallion is made with four of the patterns from Stampin' Up's Haiku designer series paper, then layered onto a combination of three scalloped circles and a top-note die-cut. The flower center is an Old Olive felt flower with a silver circle brad to hold it in place. I stamped "Birthday Celebrations" from Upsy Daisy, then cut it out with a Spellbinders label die. The bottom lacy edge is done with a Martha Stewart border punch.

Before I go, I'd love to share some recent goodies I've received. A few weeks ago, I posted about using the retired Cranberry Crisp card stock so much, and wondered what I'll do when I run out. Would you believe a pack of Cranberry Crisp card stock and a spool of stitched ribbon showed up in my mailbox a few days later from the amazingly sweet, talented, fellow dirty girl Jessie Rone? It was such a thoughtful and unexpected surprise it brought tears to my eyes! And now I don't have to worry about running out for that much longer. As if that weren't enough, she included this most darling card EVER:



Then, last week, another beautiful surprise from Heather Rolin of H&M Stamps:



Arent those angels the sweetest? Heather is such an amazing artist. Check out the adorable images she has at H&M Stamps!

I have one more beautiful RAK from last week, plus some overdue birthday RAKS from September, but I'll post those on another day!
Thanks for visiting,



Stamps: Upsy Daisy (Stampin' Up!)
Paper: So Saffron, Very Vanilla, Old Olive, Tangerine Tango, More Mustard card stock; Haiku designer paper (all SU!)
Ink: Old Olive, Tangerine Tango, So Saffron
Accessories: circle brad, felt flower, silver brads, paper piercer, dimensionals, sponge daubers, Top Note Sizzix die (SU!); scalloped Nestabilities and label die (Spellbinders); Martha Stewart lace border punch; Saffron grosgrain (Pink Hedgehog Paper Crafts); Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder
Size: 5 1/4" square

Lotsa Fun Stuff

Lots to share today! First up is my sample for this week's challenge at Our Creative Corner. Denise, our November host, has a fun one for us this week - use a silhouette stamp. We also welcome Silke Ledlow (aka sparklegirl on SCS) as our guest designer this week, so you're also invited to add some sparkle to your card if you want. The OCC designers' samples are all posted on the Our Creative Corner blog, and also on their individual blogs. Be sure to check them out:

Cindy Haffner
Dawn Easton
Denise Marzec
Jennifer Meyer
Julee Tilman
Lynda Benden

For my card, I combined Stampin' Up's Upsy Daisy set with some Urban Garden designer paper (also SU!) and used this week's SCS color challenge colors: Basic Gray, Pacific Point, and Certainly Celery. I inked the image in Pacific Point, stamped off once, then sponged Pacific Point onto the flower tips. I liked how this gave me a slight color gradation. I then painted on some Angel Wings Shimmerz. The scallop border is one of the Martha Stewart punches. I got the idea to add piercing to the scallops from OCC teammate Dawn Easton. We'd love to have you play along. Remember to use keyword OCCC if you upload to SCS.

Next up is my sample for Jen's Sketch for You To Try. As always, visit Jen at i{heart}2stamp to see the sketch, Jen's sample, and guest designer Becca Feeken's sample. Then visit Amy, Carole, Shannan, and Susan for more ways to use the sketch. Again, we'd love to have you play along. The keyword on SCS is SFYTT. Here's my take:



The inspiration for this one was the Frosty Day designer paper from Stampin' Up (I think that's the name of it?). I finally got around to ordering some of the Stampin' Up holiday stuff. The sentiment was created with a Harmony Rectangular Stamper Set and the Brayton Font, both from JustRite Stampers. The snowflake I used to stamp on the sentiment panel is from the Christmas Joy set by Clear Art Stamps from Crafty Secrets, and the chocolate brads are from Pink Hedgehog Paper Crafts.

I had hoped to have some kind of "teaser" project to post today as a reminder that the November Dirty Dozen gallery has been unveiled, but I just plain ran out of time. This month's theme was soooo much fun: Chick Lit. Even more fun are the two newest dirty girls, but you'll have to head to SCS for the full scoop ;) Check it all out right HERE. Or, for info on how to join the Fan Club, click here.

If you're here for stamping and stamping only, that's it for today. If you like the non-stamping stuff occasionally, keep reading ...

I mentioned on Thursday that it was my husband's and my fifteenth wedding anniversary - remember? Well, lookie what showed up in my driveway that afternoon:



The limo took us in to Washington, DC for a wonderful dinner in Georgetown, followed by a show at the Kennedy Center. It was kinda rainy and yucky, so I can't tell you how nice it was to have door-to-door service all evening long. That said, are you thinking what I'm thinking? Say it with me: "That's a lot of stamps!" LOL!

Please know that we are NOT extravagant people at all -- he even less than I! I'm 40 and had never been in a limo before. I have to confess that I gave my husband a little bit of grief for let's just say "insufficient hoopla" when I turned 40 two months ago. But now that I think about it, what's worth celebrating more? After all, staying married for fifteen years takes a LOT more work than merely aging a few decades, kwim?

And here we are, me with my bad-hair day and everything:



(By the way, I can't wait to get these braces off and smile like a normal person again. I don't know what DH's excuse is! Maybe that's what you look like after you've been married to ME for fifteen years - ROFL!)

Thanks so much for visiting, and have a great weekend!



You're On My Mind:
Stamps: Upsy Daisy (Stampin Up)
Paper: Certainly Celery, pacific Point, Whisper White, Basic Gray, Urban Garden dp (SU)
Ink: Pacific Point, Certainly Celery
Accessories: pewter jumbo eyelets, ice rhinestone brads, pewter hodgepodge hardware, Pacific Point double-striped ribbon, paper piercer (SU!); Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder; Martha Stewart border punch; Angel Wings Shimmerz

Let It Snow:
Stamps: Brayton Font (JustRite Stampers); Christmas Joy (Clear Art Stamps by Crafty Secrets)
Paper: Tangerine Tango, Chocolate Chip, Bashful Blue, Whisper White, Frosty Day dp (SU!)
Ink: Tangerine Tango, Bashful Blue
Accessories: felt ribbon, sponge daubers, scallop border punch (SU!); chocolate brads (Pink Hedgehog Paper Crafts); foam squares; sewing machine/white thread

Eyes Without A Face

Every month on the 20th, the current Dirty Dozen and the Dirty Dozen Alumni have a little fun participating in a group challenge. This month's challenge is hosted by Emily Gunnell (aka WaterPixie on SCS). It goes like this:

Challenge Focus: Create a Halloween card or treat holder.

Required Element: Googlie Eyes! We want to see those eyes jiggle!

Restricted Element: No pumpkins! You'll have to use a different image associated with Halloween!

Hope you like it, and thanks for stopping by!



Stamps: All Holidays (SU!)
Paper: Basic Black, Certainly Celery, Whisper White, Tangerine Tango, Lavender Lace (SU!)
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black
Accessories: Tangerine Tango double-striped ribbon, scalloped border punch, paper piercer, curvy label punch (SU!); brads (Close to My Heart); D'Vine Swirls and Forest Branches Cuttlebug folders (Provo Craft); googlie eyes

Singin' In the Rain

Do you know what today is? It's the 15th, which means the fabulous, new Dirty Dozen gallery AND the two newest dirty girls have been revealed. For more info, go HERE.

This month's theme was "For A Song," so all of our projects are music-related or inspired by music. It was such a fun theme that I'm not ready to move on! There wasn't time enough or room enough in the gallery for all of my ideas, so I'll plan to share some others here throughout the month.

Today's card was made for this week's SCS sketch challenge. I was up late last night, so I got to play along early for a change. It's a very cool layout! The colors I chose to work with are waaaaay out of my comfort zone, but I thought it would be fun to do something different. The card is pretty straightforward, so I'll leave out the details today. As always, if you need info on anything, though, just ask!

Thanks for dropping in! And DO check out the Dirty Dozen gallery if you're a Fan Club member. It's one of my faves! If you're not yet, I'd encourage you to consider joining. The monthly Dirty Dozen gallery is just one of the membership perks! Learn more about the Fan Club here.



Stamps: A Little Birdie Told Me (SU!)
Paper: Wild Wasabi, Basic Black, Whisper White card stock (SU); dp (KI Memories)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: classic and scalloped circle Nestabilities, dimensionals, vintage brads, black gingham ribbon, scalloped border punch, "Vintage" Cuttlebug die

SCS Featured Stamper: Anne Ryan

I haven't played in the Featured Stamper challenge on SCS in a loooooong time. It's definitely not for lack of interest -- I love this challenge!! I took a peek yesterday and was delighted to see Anne Ryan in the spotlight. Not only is she a super talented stamper, but she is one of the most generous SCS members when it comes to commenting on the gallery uploads. She has a way of making you feel like your card is the only one in the whole gallery. SUCH a sweetheart!

Anyway, I chose this card of hers to CASE. I kept the basic layout, but changed pretty much everything else. I really wanted to create something in her eclectic, artsy style, but the matchy-matchy call of my unopened pack of Green Tea designer paper from Stampin' Up was just too much to resist! The white deco border was created with Stampin' Up's curvy label punch. I just laid the punched pieces side by side and left a little of the edge peeking out. I'm lovin' this punch!! The whole large square is raised up on dimensionals, as is the scalloped circle. On the inside, I stamped the Eastern Blooms branch in VersaMark on Baja Breeze, matted in white, and attached to the Old Olive card base.

[Aimee asked how I colored the stems and flowers. What I've done in the past is to use brush-tip Fantastix as substitutes for In-Color markers. They work great! For this card, though, I tried something a little different. I inked the whole image in Baja Breeze, then used a Fantastix to remove the Baja Breeze from the stems. I then used an Old Olive marker on those parts. I thought it worked equally well, perhaps even better.]

Happy Thanksgiving to my Canadian friends!

Thanks for stopping by!



Stamps: Eastern Blooms (SU!)
Paper: Green Tea designer series paper; Whisper White, Old Olive, Baja Breeze card stock (SU!)
Ink: Old Olive, Baja Breeze, Certainly Celery (SU!)
Accessories: butterfly punch (Martha Stewart); classic and scalloped circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders); dimensionals, vintage brads, paper piercer, sponge daubers, Baja Breeze double-striped ribbon, curvy label punch (SU!)
Size: 5 1/4" square

There's A New Sheriff In Town

This week at Our Creative Corner, Lynda is challenging everyone to create a card that is not square OR rectangle. Let me first say that I have never, not even once, created a circle card, but I've always wanted to. So how did I end up with overalls? I have no idea! Except that inspiration struck, and I ran with it. What I was going for was a cute "Welcome baby" card for a cousin who just had a little boy. I think this would have worked a little better with a farmer theme instead of the sheriff theme (I tried it with a bandanna and some raffia "straw" sticking out of the pocket and it was soooooo cute [and you all know I don't normally do "cute" very well]), but I couldn't come up with a clever saying for the inside. "Look what's growing on the farm," "Look what's hatched on the farm," and some other things along those lines were all I could come up with. Ideas, anyone? I'm all ears!

Be sure to visit Our Creative Corner for full details on the challenge (and one of the coolest giveaways ever!!), plus samples from the other OCC designers! [Edited to add: I totally forgot to mention we were lucky enough to score none other than Laura Fredrickson, aka scrapnextras, as our guest designer this week. Thank you, Laura, for joining us this week and doing such a beautiful project!!]

Cindy Haffner
Dawn Easton
Denise Marzec
Jennifer Meyer
Julee Tilman
Laurie Schmidlin
Lynda Benden

A few notes about the card: I started with a top fold standard A2-size card, then penciled in the shape of the overalls and cut them out. I sliced off the top (the fold) right along the top of the "bib" of the overalls, then used the scraps to make separate straps. The pocket is a stamp from an old, retired SU! set called Pocket Fun (though it would be easy enough to create your own pocket). The overalls are stamped with the Just Jeans background stamp (also retired), and the letters for "Liam" are stamped with Alphabits (also retired ... think it's time to purge my stamps?) and punched out with the 1/4" circle punch. To create the sheriff's badge, I punched a large star from Marigold Morning, then added More Mustard 1/4" circles and Antique Brass brads to the five points.

Don't miss my sample for this week's Sketch for You to Try right HERE!

Thanks for stopping by!



Stamps: Just Jeans, Alphabits, Pocket Fun (SU!); All In A Row and Nursery Neccessities (inside) (SU!)
Paper: Brocade Blue, Riding Hood Red, Marigold Morning, More Mustard (SU!)
Ink: Riding Hood Red, Brocade Blue, Basic Black (SU!)
Accessories: vintage brads, Antique Brass jumbo eyelets, Riding Hood Red double-striped ribbon, distressing tool, large star punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, 1/4" circle punch, word window punch, dimensionals (SU!)
Size: 5 1/2 x 4 1/4" (same as standard A2)

Still Living My Dream

It's been way too long since I've participated in one of Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenges, but this past weekend's sketch was just tooooo good to pass up. I followed Mary Jo's lead on colors and keepin' it simple and really like how this one turned out!

I'm sure I'm not the first to do this, but the idea to have the little Curly Label Punch pieces peeking out behind the striped panel was something new to me. I love how they look kind of like brackets. An easy, trendy little accent :)

Note: I feel like I use this tall flower image from Live Your Dream ALL the time! It really is my go-to image :) Hope you're not sick of it!

Thanks for stopping by,



P.S. Not only is this one Stampin' Up ONLY, but everything is current, too (I think)!I haven't done that in a while either. [Edited to Add: Well, there you have it on how "with it" I am when it comes to Stampin' Up - Live Your Dream is NOT current after all! LOL. (That's really disappointing, too!)]

Stamps: Live Your Dream
Paper: Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze, textured Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White card stock, Urban Garden dp
Ink: Kiwi Kiss, Not Quite Navy
Accessories: vintage brads, curly label punch, paper piercer, gray taffeta ribbon, dimensionals, sponge daubers

The Highest of Arts

I combined this week's SCS color challenge (Really Rust, Baja Breeze, Chocolate Chip) and this week's Ways to Use it challenge (use a quote) to make today's project. Love this color combo!

I inked the flower from Upsy Daisy in Baja Breeze, sponged on some Blue Bayou and some Chocolate Chip ink, then stamped. Last I painted on some Angel Wings Shimmerz for some sparkle. The quote comes from the retird Art of Life set. The ribbon? Can you even believe I found it in my stash? It came from Michael's, probably their dollar bin.

Here's a little challenge ... can you identify this mystery photo? It was taken yesterday with my camera:

Whoever comes closest gets today's card and some random goodies from my craft room. Just leave me a comment by Sunday, 9 am, to be considered!

Thanks for stopping by!



Stamps: Upsy Daisy, Art of Life (Stampin' Up!)
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Baja Breeze, Really Rust (SU!)
Ink: Baja Breeze, Blue Bayou, Chocolate Chip (SU)
Accessories: ribbon (Michael's); Angel Wings Shimmerz; Just My Type and Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folders (Provo Craft); Vintage brads, 1/4" circle punch, scallop border punch, paper piercer, dimensionals (SU!)

Cut It Out!

I spent part of the morning finishing up my sample for Jen del Muro's Sketch for You To Try, and now I'm being summoned by my oldest son to take him shopping for some new Bakugan (his money - yay!!). Is that the new craze everywhere? It sure is at my son's school! [Update: Cole and I spent three hours going to four different stores for Bakugan (plus two craft stores for me) and FINALLY found them at the last store, which was the closest to home, LOL! He is VERY happy, and so is Mom.]


I toyed around with some different ideas for Jen's sketch this week (check it out at i{heart}2stamp), especially for the star, which just indicates any kind of embellishment. I kept coming back to some kind of flourish. I went to bed last night after a really fun scrap club with the plan to use one of my grungeboard flourishes, but somewhere along the way took a notion to use the branch-like image from Stampin' Up's Kindred Spirits set. I love the look of this image trimmed out! It takes some time, but the results are worth it. So I guess I kind of "adapted" the sketch (it sounds so much nicer than "maul," huh?) and turned the embellishment into the focal image. Anyway, the card is really not at all what I envisioned, but I'm calling it done all the same :D

In addition to the sketch, you can see Jen's and guest designer Suzanne Dean's samples at i{heart}2stamp.com. While you're there, be sure to wish Jen and her husband Tony a happy anniversary! You can see even more samples from Amy, Carole, Shannan, and Susan. As always, we'd love to have you play along. If you upload to SCS, remember to use keyword: SFYTT.



Stamps: Kindred Spirits (SU!); So Happy (Verve)
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Ivory Naturals, Kraft, Always Artichoke (SU!); Archaic dp (Basic Grey)
Ink: Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Always Artichoke (SU!)
Accessories: word window punch, vintage brads, distressing tool, dimensionals (SU!); classic square Nestabilities (Spellbinders); Forest Branches Cuttlebug folder (Provo Craft); brown twill (Offray); sewing machine, ivory thread, chocolate brown thread

Scrapbook Club Make-and-Take

After a summer hiatus, my scrapbook club is meeting again tonight for some crop time and a make-and-take. I've said before (but it's been a long time) - it's haaaaard coming up with make-and-take ideas. Everyone scraps a little differently, plus there's a mix of women at different ages and stages in the group. We all love papercrafting and we're all wives and moms. But those are about the only things we have in common. I opted for an easy Halloween spread for tonight - can't go wrong with that!

Sorry for the poor photograph - I haven't figured out how to get a good picture of such a big project. Anyway, I'm a bad demo for a lot of reasons ... one is that I don't mind pulling out my retired stuff (Booglie Eyes) and using contraband when it works (oval Nestability). If I were doing a workshop with potential new customers, I wouldn't do this, but these girls have been with me forever, and they don't mind.

The page base is 12x12 black card stock. The large green pieces are just single sheets of 8 1/2 x 11 turned landscape (yay, no cutting!). The space on the left where I've added my watermark is intended for journaling. Since the green panel is 8 1/2 x 11, they'll easily be able to print their journaling on the computer if they want to. They will be stamping the Halloween creatures on watercolor paper and watercoloring with SU markers. See that spider web on the right-hand page? I got that idea from this amazing card by Monika Davis. I wouldn't live to post here again if I had my club ladies stitch that web with a machine!! So we're doing some piercing and faux stitching (with a black marker) instead.

Have I mentioned before how much I loathe full spreads these days? The day I let go of the notion that opposing pages had to match, and started creating stand-alone single pages instead, was the day I found freedom in scrapbooking. One thing I dislike about full spreads is finding a way to visually connect the two sides, so that they really look unified. On this spread I tried to do that with the thin white strip that runs full-width along the bottom and by connecting the two pages with hinges made from Stampin' Up's tag punch.

Here are a couple of detail shots:





Thanks for stopping by!



Stamps: Booglie Eyes [retired], All Holidays (SU!)
Paper: Basic Black, Certainly Celery, Lavender Lace, Tangerine Tango, Whisper White (SU!)
Ink: Basic Black, Jet Black Staz-On (SU!)
Accessories: Basic Black, Certainly Celery, Lavender Lace, Pumpkin Pie, Going Gray markers, paper piercer, silver brads, tag punch, Tangerine Tango double-striped ribbon (all SU!); classic oval Nestability (Spellbinders)

Thank You!

Today's card is for you! I know I've been a little flaky with my blog posting lately. I've had a lot going on this week especially that has left precious little time for much stamping- boo! I'm hoping to get back to daily posts soon (for starters, there's no one left in my family who hasn't been sick, lol!), but in the meantime, thanks for your patience. And for your friendship! Even if it's "just" the cyber kind.

This is my sample for both of my Saturday challenges - Jen's Sketch for You to Try and the weekly challenge at Our Creative Corner. To see the sketch, Jen's sample, and guest designer Suzanne Dean's sample, visit i{heart}2stamp. Then hop over to see what Amy, Carole, Shannan, and Susan have put together. We hope you'll play along! If you upload to SCS, use keyword: SFYTT.

The challenge this week at Our Creative Corner is to incorporate chipboard into your project. Head to Our Creative Corner for all the challenge details, and to see more fun chipboard ideas from the rest of the OCC team, Cindy Haffner, Dawn Easton, Denise Marzec, Jennifer Meyer, Julee Tilman, Laurie Schmidlin, and Lynda Benden, as well as our special guest designer, my dirty dozen "roomie," the fabulous Cindy Lawrence!

I'm sure at some point I'll get tired of the new Haiku designer paper from Stampin' Up - just not yet. I hope you're not tired of seeing me use it! The branch image is from Eastern Blooms by Stampin' Up, and the sentiment is from SU's Upsy Daisy. I inked the branch in Old Olive using a marker. The flowers were inked in Tangerine Tango using a Fantastix brush dipped into Tangerine Tango ink from a reinker. The flower centers are dotted with Liquid Pearls. My chipboard element is the butterfly accent. It is manufactured by American Crafts, and comes in a beautiful, colorful pattern that unfortunately looked absolutely hideous with this paper. I turned it to the back, where it was still "naked," coated it with More Mustard craft ink, then covered it in Dazzling Diamonds glitter using Heat and Stick powder.

Thanks for visiting!



Stamps: Eastern Blooms, Upsy Daisy (SU!)
Paper: Tangering Tango, Old Olive, So Saffron, Very Vanilla, "Haiku" designer paper (SU!)
Ink: Old Olive, Tangerine Tango, So Saffron (SU!)
Accessories: chipboard butterfly (American Crafts); liquid pearls (Ranger), Fantastix brush applicator; paper piercer, Tangerine Tango double-striped ribbon , dimensionals (SU!)